Well, I was a bit surprised to learn via your comments and emails that that stupid "cheer" isn't unique to A2. Texas fans reported seeing it in Austin, ASU fans lamented its use in Tempe, Hokie fans said it reared its ugly head at Virginia Tech, etc., etc., etc.

But the most damning evidence against the "key play" cheer was left in the comments section by an anonymous reader. It's video from last year's ND/USC classic, shot in the Irish student section during the critical Trojan 4th down at the tail end of the game. No wonder ND lost. Look at all the damn keys!

Apparently God hates the key play cheer just a little bit more than he loves Notre Dame. Remember, there's a reason Touchdown Jesus doesn't look like this...

9 comments:

Anonymous
said...

That video completely invalidates your argument. Seems pretty loud there. Unfourtunately, UM fans are generally unwilling to make noise like this. This has more to do with the stadium and the alumni than keys. You won't change anything if you keep harping on the key thing.

Iowa fans used to use their keys to great effect in the 80's. This was in the era when an opposing team quarterback could stop play if the home fans were being too loud for him to bark his signals. The Iowa crowds would just pull out their keys and jingle those instead. Got Michigan a delay-of-game penalty in '88, which prompted Bo into drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike for running onto the field and throwing down his headset.

It could be worse, though. We all remember the debacle of the quarters-in-the-waterbottle plan last year. Nothing like watching bottles raining down onto the field after a blown call.

"key play", "who cares", Bullwinkle, Blues Brothers and the wave are all relics of the 80s. (class of '85) They were funny and imaginative then, but lets get some new material. The Guy who posted about "key play" originating from a time when you'd get penalized for excessive noise is exactly correct, and I think we started it. It was actually pretty funny then, but very stupid and irrelevant now.That being said, I've heard the complaints about Michigan Stadium being too quiet forever and I don't think its true. The crowd gets plenty loud at the right times. I leave every big game I've ever attended since 1973 without a voice.By the way, great site. You guys are awesome!

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